Cole, Eagles defense take aim at Brees

“He’s just like the same quarterback we just went against in Dallas,” said Cole, who leads the Eagles with eight sacks. “You know, Orton. He kind of reminds me of Kyle Orton, but he’s a lot shorter.”

Though it was clear no disrespect was intended, you couldn’t help but grin at the image. Brees is the face of the New Orleans Saints franchise the Eagles oppose in the wild-card round Saturday.

To clear up any confusion Cole suggested it was no knock on the skills of the soon-to-be 35-year-old Orton, “a real good quarterback.” Cole should have reminded the media that Orton almost beat the Eagles.

“Bleep, all I’m saying is he’s a rhythm quarterback and he gets the ball out,” Cole said of Brees. “The scouting report said they took more sacks than usual this year. It’s more of us going in there and executing and make some plays and go out there mistake-free and I think we can go in there and win this game.”

It was the real Trent Cole. The pass rusher who made the playoffs in four of his first six seasons with the Eagles. It was the all-ahead full Cole. What a difference a year and rookie head coach Chip Kelly make, right?

Cole wouldn’t say he feared he’d never get back to the playoffs but the 31-year-old veteran sure implied it.

“I tell a lot of the young guys this is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Cole said. “This might be the only chance of your NFL career to be this close, to be able to get a shot at the Super Bowl. They’ve got to know that every team now that’s made it to the playoffs is the best team right now. And every game is going to be a hard-fought game. And as the games go on it gets a lot faster because everybody’s got one goal and everybody’s got the same goal. Everybody wants to get to the big show. You’ve just got to have the awareness of where we’re at and what’s our goal.”

Surrounded by media, the cagey Cole was holding court in an Eagles locker room brimming with optimism after outlasting you know, Orton and the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East title game last Sunday night.

Back-to-back playoff-less seasons have been hell not only for Cole but the Eagles, coming off a 4-12 campaign that cost Andy Reid his job.

“The past two years weren’t that good,” Cole said. “But here we are. We have the opportunity to make it to the Super Bowl. And we’re going to go in here and run with. And I think that we’ve got the team to try to do that.”

The Eagles rode the back of NFL rushing champion LeSean McCoy and their opportunistic defense into the wild-card round of the postseason. The winner takes on the Carolina Panthers the following Sunday at 1 p.m.

Cole’s enthusiasm is understandable. If there’s a scary lights-out playoff team other than the Seahawks on their home turf, let them stand and deliver. Cole clearly feels the Eagles belong. And he really likes the Eagles plan for him which is to get after the quarterback.

Brees was sacked 37 times this year compared to 26 sacks in 2012. With a 68.6 completion percentage, 39 touchdown passes and just 12 interceptions, Brees has a 104.7 passer rating.

Brees also has completed 446 passes. Eagles quarterback Nick Foles had 203 completions. Without even breaking down the skills of all-world tight end Jimmy Graham or wide receiver Marques Colston, the Eagles absolutely better get a great night’s sleep. Brees is going to keep them busy.

“This what it used to be,” Cole said. “We started from the bottom and now we’re at the top and we’ve just got to keep moving from there. It’s been a long road. We’ve run into some adversity which we knew was going to happen. But this team is very well adjusted to that.

“The plan came together. Chip’s plan came together. We’ve just got to keep doing the same thing we’re doing. Doing the same routine we’ve been doing and play a hard game.”

To beat the Saints, the Eagles have to beat on Brees. Or if you prefer Orton, Kyle Orton, only a lot shorter.

Follow Bob Grotz on Twitter @BobGrotz.

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